1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates.to warehouse storage apparatus and more particularly to a modular flow track that provides for ease of assembly to tiers of pallet rack assemblies and makes possible easy access to store containers disposed upon such pallet racks, the flow deck being adjustable in length without the need for tools.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The storage of containers, boxes, and other storage items has always presented the warehouse engineer with difficult choices. One objective of the warehouse engineer is to store as many items as possible in a given storage space while still being able to provide normal and efficient access thereto. The problem with high density storage design is that the shortening of the height of the tiers of adjacent pallet racks provides classification of materials within a given floor space at the expense of severely restricting access to the containers disposed upon the racks.
It is not uncommon to find that material handling personnel are often thwarted in their attempts to access containers disposed behind other containers in a row of containers stored on a given pallet rack tier.
In recent times, flow tracks have become popular as a means of loading and unloading containers on pallet racks. These flow tracks allow materials to move easily over the rollers of the tracks, thus making it convenient to load and unload containers. However, it is still a requirement of accessability that these pallet rack tiers be spaced a minimum height distance in order to allow for ease of flow and for proper handling.
One of the early disadvantages with the use of flow tracking was that the tracks had to be bolted to the pallet frames for support. This is both a laborious set up, an inconvenience, and a waste of tier height space. The height of the flow tracks themselves increased overall height of the storage tiers. The addition of only a few inches to each tier eliminates a whole tier after only approximately five tiers have been constructed.
The attachment problem was solved with the development of a flow track with an extremely low profile. This type of flow track required no mechanical attachment to the pallet rack beams and added minimal overall height to each tier. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,185 to Neuwirth and the Applicant herein, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,158 to Pfeiffer, the Applicant herein, and Neuwirth, for an explanation of the low profile flow track.
Applicant has improved upon the low profile concept of the flow track by providing a flow track in which the end plates are adjustable without tools so as to allow the hand adjustment of the overall length of the flow track depending upon the configuration of the pallet rack support frames.
An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel flow track system that can be drop loaded into a pallet storage tier.
A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel flow track system having a low profile substantially flush mounted with the support beam of a storage tier.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel flow track system, the flow tracks of which can be adjusted in length without the use of tools.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel flow track system which is inexpensive and can be adapted to most any storage frame.
A flow track system comprising a plurality of flow track members, each flow track member comprised of generally parallel, spaced apart support members having a plurality of axles transversely disposed therebetween, the axles having mounted thereon a plurality of free turning rollers, the support members having an impact feed plate mounted at a first end and a discharge stop plate mounted at a second end, the feed plate and discharge plates having a sleeve formed therein for slidable, rotatable engagement with a securing bolt and having formed on each end thereof a plurality of engagement stops to selectively set the distance that the in feed plate and the discharge plate extend beyond the ends of the parallel, spaced apart support members allowing for the adjustment of fit between the pallet beams. The weight of the track locks the in feed plate and the discharge plate position.